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Very expensive. AUD200K is over USD$136K

• chubs 7y ago
  Base car costs $AU71k according to carsales, plus it has 88kWh worth of batteries. A naive calculation puts that at $65k worth of batteries when compared with 6.5 tesla powerwalls (costing $AU10k each) to get the same capacity (obviously the non-battery hardware in the powerwall vs ute would be different but roughly equivalent). Adding to $136k. Plus of course the engineering costs. No idea what you could sell the unused diesel motor for, and how much the electric motor costs. Interesting!
• toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Cheaper than running it on petrol you have to haul in. Have to look at total operating costs, not just vehicle sticker.
  • DrStalker 7y ago
    They also mention reduces ventilation needs; if mines don't have to handle diesel exhaust in confined underground spaces that's another win.
  • flashman 7y ago
    I wonder how quickly it charges. Vehicles in mine sites are often in use around the clock, which is fine if you can quickly top them up with fuel, but if it takes a few hours to recharge them, you're going to need more vehicles.
    • toomuchtodo 7y ago
      The bigger the battery, the faster it can charge to 80% or so. The last 20% is the slow charge, but if the vehicle is always plugged in when not moving, it’s not a concern.
      • dsfyu404ed 7y ago
        Most of the time a mining vehicle (or any other vehicle used in a similar setting) is not moving it is nowhere near a plug. It's not like buses or delivery vehicles where they only ever stop when they're at some sort of "home base" where they can charge. A mining vehicle is sitting around somewhere remote while the operator gets out and surveys something or fixes something (or it sits there with HVAC blasting while they do paperwork).
        • toomuchtodo 7y ago
          While a mine itself is remote, they typically either have utility power or on site generation. Many mines are moving to renewables for local generation for cost savings reasons. Anything you have to bring to a remote location is expensive, including power or fuel.
          • dsfyu404ed 7y ago
            How the mine gets its power is irrelevant. The point is that these vehicles are rarely stationary at any sort of base where they can charge. Most mines run 24/7 (though often not at full capacity during the "off" hours). The duty cycle is much higher than buses and delivery vehicles.